To merely call Leo Castelli a famous art dealer would be an understatement.  One of the most influential people in American art, Castelli single handedly altered public consciousness by introducing Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Conceptual Art and Minimalism to the landscape of New York City’s gallery scene.  Always the champion of up and coming artists, the Leo Castelli gallery was a launch pad for some of contemporary art’s most famous names. 

The 1950’s saw a massive shift in attitude toward certain elements in art that were, until that point, considered to be congruent with its definition.  The usual conventions of sophistication, abstraction and romance were challenged in the wake of the mass culture and advertising that followed WWII.  As in the way the Dada movement reflected WWI Europe, the Pop Art movement sought to celebrate the banal, consumerist landscape of Britain and America by using ironic imagery as means of cultural contemplation.

Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction! Auction!

       NOV.      16th        2010           H   O   L   I   D    A   Y              A   U   C   T   I   O   N                  NOV.        16^th